Day Five of the 7-day Nativity Tradition-SHEPERDS

by Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler, adapted from LDS Living's "Christ-Centered Christmas Celebration" video series

Day 5: Shepherds

 DB: [It is believed that] the shepherd fields right outside of Bethlehem are where they raised lambs for sacrifice in the temple, which is so symbolic because Jesus is the Lamb of God and was born to be sacrificed. And something that shepherds would normally do, is they would take the lambs—remember that were first born and male and had no blemish— 

EBF: And they would check them. They would check over all of them. And when a lamb was born that looked like that— 

DB: Right, they would wrap them up in swaddling clothes and they would lay it on the manger floor. So when the angels come and give [the shepherds] that sign to look for Jesus, they knew that they were looking for the Lamb of God. They knew what it meant. Invitation 

EBF: The shepherds symbolize a testimony within, an inner conviction that we have come to know Christ. The shepherds are a reminder for us to come closer to the Lord, now and with haste, and then to share our testimony with others. The invitation then for the shepherds is, of course, to share your testimony of Jesus. 

Tradition Idea: Get a candle and give one to every person in your family. The person who starts gets to light their candle, and then you just light the candle of every person around the room and share one small thing you love about Jesus.